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Often lenders are made out to be the enemy. It is
understanding that some people will think this when they perhaps owe a lot of
money, get lots of fees and charges for them and cannot seem to find good
deals. However, there are some people that take advantage for lenders and gain
a lot as a result of borrowing money. Below are a few examples so you can think
about whether this is something that you might be able to do.

BusinessesThe way that businesses grow is to invest. They have to buy more stock
employ more people or move into larger premises in order to be able to sell
more. This means that they will need to pay for this. Although they could wait
and save up to do this, they will be able to do it a lot more quickly if they borrow
the money. If they forecast correctly then they should be able to make more
money from their investment than they are paying in interest.

Mortgage HoldersMany people would like to own their own home rather than rent. Private
renting is usually more expensive than mortgage repayments and so you can
immediately start saving money. This will of course depend on the rent that you
are paying and how much your mortgage repayments are. Once you own your home
you will no longer have to pay anything monthly at all. There are some extra
expenses that come as a result of owning your own home, such as maintenance, buildings
insurance and things like this but the fact that the money that you have paid
in can be got back when the building is sold, it usually increases in value and
you do not have to pay rent means that in the long run you will be better off.

Credit CardsCredit cards can be really useful as long as you pay off the full balance
each month. You can set up a direct debit to do this for you and this will mean
that you will not forget to pay it off and therefore never pay any interest.
There are several advantages of using the card and paying this way compared
with using a debit card or cash. Firstly, a credit card has insurance and so if
you order items and they do not turn up, you will be able to get your money
back through the card provider. If you order online the card is more secure
than a debit card. You are not paying for items right away so you can get
interest on the money that you would have spent and make yourself something
back.

So you can see that there are situations where borrowing
money can be really helpful. It can actually mean that you might be able to
improve your financial situation compared to if you did not borrow. There are
obviously many types of borrowing where this is not the case and you will have
to be careful to make sure that you pick a loan that will work for you and your
lifestyle.

Some people do struggle to be self-disciplined when it comes
to money and this can be a problem if they have a credit card in some cases.
They may spend more than they can afford to repay and this could mean that they
will end up getting into all sorts of financial trouble It is worth thinking
about whether you are likely to do this, if you do get a credit card or whether
there are things that you can do to make sure that things do not get out of hand.
You also have to be careful with a mortgage too, as if you buy a property that
decreases in value or struggle with the repayments you could end up paying more
than you otherwise would need to.

It is important to be really careful when you are considering borrowing money. There are many reasons that people borrow and many different types of loans and it is important to get it right. Make sure that you will gain financially from any borrowing that you are doing, both in the short term and long term, taking all of the costs of borrowing into account. Also make sure that you pick the right loan for you and compare those loan types to make sure that you get the one that offers you the best value for money. Do not borrow more money than you need as that will lead to unnecessary expense. If you have a long-term loan, such as a mortgage, then regularly compare it to others and switch to a better lender if you can.

There is a lot to consider and think about but it is
important to realise that not all borrowing is bad. There are some good reasons
for borrowing as well and you just need to make sure that you are borrowing for
the right reasons and that you will make financial gains from doing so.

There are many people that have an overdraft. Most banks and
building societies will offer an overdraft facility on a current account so
that you can borrow extra money should you need it. Many people use them if
they run out of money before they next get paid. When their salary goes into
the account then it will repay the overdraft for them. They are very
convenient, simple to use and often available even if you do not want them.
Unfortunately, it can be all too easy to use them to borrow so much money that
your income does not repay it or you struggle each month and get more and more
overdrawn by the end of it. You may be in a situation where you need help in
repaying.

The idea of finding a
lot of money to repay can be daunting and it is understandable that you might
be avoiding doing so if you can. However, there is not really a need to worry
as there are things that you can do. Do not expect it to happen quickly, but
slowly over time you should be able to whittle down the overdraft.

Look at your finances
and set budgetsThe first thing to do is to be clear on what is going on with your
finances. Find out what you are earning, what you owe on your overdraft and
what you are paying out. Look at what you have to pay out and what you are
buying that is not necessary. Set a budget so that you put aside money to pay
all of your necessities and then keep only a little for luxuries if you need it
so that you do not spend more than necessary. Hopefully this budget will be
lower than your income so that there is money left to start reducing the
overdraft.

Look at cheaper
borrowing optionsAn overdraft can be an expensive way to borrow money. This means that there
may be better options available to you. You might be able to get a personal
loan, for example which will pay off your overdraft and that will have a lower
interest rate so it will be cheaper. However, not all borrowing ill be cheaper
and you could get yourself into trouble if you use a loan to repay the
overdraft and then get overdrawn again. Then you will not only have loan
repayments to make but an overdraft to worry about as well. Therefore, be
careful to make sure that you are confident that this will not happen to you if
you do decide to take a loan out.

Look for
opportunities to make more moneyIt can be good to look out for ways to make some extra money which you will
be able to put towards paying off your loan. There are many opportunities
available and they are very varied so hopefully you will be able to find
something that will be useful to you. Firstly, if you have a job then it might
be possible for you to work more hours, ask for a pay rise or even try to get a
promotion with a pay rise. These could help to increase your salary which you
can use towards repaying the overdraft. You might even want to change your job
to one that is higher paying.

This may not be an option for everyone though but there are
other options. It could be possible to sell items that you own and no longer
need which could raise some money that you could put towards the overdraft. If
you own your home you may be able to rent out a spare room, garage, attic space
or driveway in order to earn some extra money that way. You might be able to
pick up some work online to get some extra money coming in as well.

Cut down spendingCutting down your spending should help you to not build up your overdraft
so much and should hopefully mean that you can reduce it as well if you spend
less than you are earning. Reducing spending can seem really hard, but there
are things that you can try which are not too difficult and take a small amount
of time. For example, if you check how much you are paying for electricity,
gas, phone, TV, broadband and things like this, you might be able to switch to
a cheaper company and save money. Changing your insurance company might also
reduce how much you are paying. You may also be able to compare prices which
you are shopping to see whether you can pay less for your food, toiletries and cleaning
products. Do try to cut down on buying luxury items for a while, so that you
can use that money towards repaying hat you owe instead.